The University of Notre Dame鈥檚 (ILS) is partnering with the Library of America to present an聽 at 5 p.m. Oct. 16. The program will showcase two poets: 2023 National Humanities Medal awardee Richard Blanco, and award-winning poet, editor and critic Rigoberto Gonz谩lez, whose most recent book as an editor, 鈥淟atino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology,鈥� was released last month.
The reading and discussion will take place in the Reyes Family Board Room in McKenna Hall and is free and open to the public. Susana Plotts-Pineda, the Library of America鈥檚 Fellow, will serve as moderator and deliver remarks about Places We Call Home, a major humanities initiative planned for 2024-25 centered on the Library of America鈥檚 groundbreaking anthology. A reception and book signing will follow at 6:30 p.m.
鈥淭he goal of this initiative is to encourage readers to connect with the vibrant and multifaceted strands of the Latino poetic tradition,鈥� Plotts-Pineda said. 鈥淭he programs, which range from library discussion groups to large-scale launches at major festivals, are meant to bring the work of more than 180 poets, spanning a myriad of cultures, languages and facets of diasporic experience to people鈥檚 lives and communities in personal, embodied and meaningful ways.鈥�
, the founding director of the ILS鈥� literary initiative, , has been laying the additional groundwork in the South Bend community by arranging three book club discussions with the St. Joe County Public Library. The discussions, led by recent Notre Dame MFA graduate Alaina Johansson, will take place in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 16 event.
鈥淕iven that we are in the middle of election season, what emerged from my conversations with Melody Lutz at the downtown branch was the idea of adopting Richard Blanco鈥檚 poetry collection, 鈥楬ow to Love A Country,鈥� as our book club selection,鈥� Arag贸n said. 鈥淥ur hope is that these book discussions among members of the public will coax them to venture onto campus to experience Richard鈥檚 poems in person. Engaging with local citizens in this manner is Letras Latinas鈥� way of taking to heart Notre Dame鈥檚 , which challenges the University to make a difference in South Bend.鈥�
The mid-October program completes Notre Dame鈥檚 .
The campus event will also count on the special collaboration of Emma Trelles, the former poet laureate of Santa Barbara, California, who will travel to Notre Dame from Southern California to introduce Blanco, a fellow Cuban American poet. Trelles will also conduct an oral history interview with Blanco and be the subject of an interview herself 鈥� conducted by 2024-25 Letras Latinas Poetry Coalition fellow, Cloud Cardona, who is visiting from San Antonio, Texas.
Current Notre Dame MFA candidate Emiliano Gomez will introduce Gonz谩lez, a fellow California native. And, on the morning of Oct. 16, Blanco and Gonz谩lez will jointly visit Arag贸n鈥檚 undergraduate literature course, Latinx Poetry Now.
Blanco鈥檚 most recent volume, 鈥淗omeland of My Body,鈥� assembles his new and selected poems and was published in 2023 by Beacon Press. Blanco was also President Barack Obama鈥檚 second inaugural poet in 2013. He is currently an associate professor at Florida International University and serves as education ambassador for the Academy of American Poets.
Gonz谩lez鈥檚 most recent collection, 鈥淭o the Boy Who Was Night,鈥� also gathers his new and selected poems and was published by Four Way Books earlier this year. In all, Gonz谩lez has published 18 books as an author, editor and critic. He is a distinguished professor of English at Rutgers University-Newark. Among his many other distinctions are fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The event on Oct. 16 is the seventh installment in a nine-episode series to mark Letras Latinas鈥� 20th anniversary. The remaining two events are slated to take place in Washington, D.C., in November, and Venice, California, in December.
December will also mark the release of Letras Latinas鈥� anniversary folio in POETRY Magazine, featuring the work of more than 25 poets. This 鈥淥ne Poem Festival鈥� in print was guest-edited by Arag贸n and Letras Latinas associate Laura Villareal. Both Arag贸n鈥檚 and Villareal鈥檚 own poetry also appear in the Library of America anthology.
Originally published by at on Oct. 1.